Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

This is pretty much copy/pasted from honda-tech. Main thing I wanted to point out was that I added a pedal to it. Ill try it out as soon as i find some gas in CO :-/

Here are some quick pics i took; keep in mind while looking at them i have ZERO tig experience and pretty much just picked up and ran with this after reading only a few articles on the net and it a few books. The uglyness is mostly the weldor not the welder. Cleaning and preperation of the metal was minimal at best; i mostly used just a wire brush; and on the mild steel in the last pic i didnt even bother knocking off the aluminum coating; with more practice and real prep i know this little welder will perform.

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZkMzF5NTQx.jpg

Overall i'm quite impressed with this little machine; we nicknamed it the "Rescue Toaster" after an episode of sealab 2021. My friend saw it and didnt think it was worth a ---- then i showed him and he used it and named it that :P
It's really not a bad machine; the scratch start is annoying but i've got to the point where i can start the arc with minimal effort and not get the tungsten stuck. It has a built in gas valve so you dont need to worry about opening and closing the valve on the torch and it has a 2 second post flow once you stop the arc.
For $200 i couldn't be happier with it

OK; So i finally got around to building a pedal; here it is:

Pedal look familiar? :P
https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e...LT/welder1.jpg

Basically I took the potentiometer out of the welder and transplanted it into a set of N64 racing pedals I got from Good Will for $3. Three dollar pedal mod. Cant beat that with a ------- stick!
https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e...LT/welder3.jpg

Here is the welders 10k pot in place of the old 25k ohm
https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e...LT/welder2.jpg


I haven't had a chance to check it out with the TIG. I've haven't had a chance to find some argon here in Colorado yet so no tig =( I did try it out with some 7018 welding rods. That was a miserable failure; 7018 rods are significantly harder to use than 6011 for an arc n00b such as myself

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

------- pedal mod is tits!!! My smiley my meet the same fate!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

mad catz.. lol..

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

hell yea!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

i have the exact same welder bout it from someone on hmt for 175 shipped :6...never had a chance to play with it yet..i still need a 220 line in the garage and need to buy gas..but im glad you posted this because i know the machine actually can do the job good :6

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

yea; i've made some MUCH better welds silnce I took those pix with this machine. It's not bad at all. I hope now with the pedal Stainless welding will be more uniform and a bit easier since i can rock the pedal now

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

Very pimp!
That's tits man.

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

so does the wire from the pedal going to where the potentiometer carrry alot of current? would it eventually burn up on heavy use??? im curious cuz if this is a safe set-up then im going to do the same to mine...sweet job by the way

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

no it carries no current; its like 600000awg wire

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

I've got like two sets of those pedals sitting in my closet upstairs! Back to the HF TIG once my ebay auctions sell!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

Bingo, I just picked up a pedal to do mine Mitec The other day!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

How thick of a meta lpiece can it weld/penetrate?

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

O0 O0 O0 O0 O0 O0

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

I think I'm going to get one of these things. For ~300, it'll be worth the investment.

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

$300? if you catch them on sale they are $200

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

got any new shots of your welds with the pedal? If that really works, i might be interested in buying one

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

Plus regulator, gas and all that ----? Wow, that's a good deal!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

yea you need a plug and regulator to get welding; plus gas if you dont already have it.

I haven't got any gas yet so no new pix of welds. As far as thickness t his thing can weld it can do sch10 with 2 passes and charge piping; anything thicker than sch10 stainless YMMV

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

I just got the newest HF flyer in the mail and their at 199 at any HF retail store. Online is another story. So for I'd say 400 you could have everything needed to TIG'ing in notime.

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

ya, i think i might pick one up. might be kind of fun :)

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

I'm pretty sure it doesnt include a regulator. The tank itself may be pricey. I ended up paying 135 for my 80cu bottle w/gas. Colin if you need a regulator. I've got an extra one, but it has a fucked up working pressure gauge.

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

I guess my e-sarcasim sucks :-\

200 for the TIG, yeah. Then add in the cost of the regulator/bottle/gas, it's at LEAST another 100-150 dollar ass raping. Still worth it though ;)

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

you may want to wire another pot inline with the one on the machineand put the second pot in the pedal. that way 'flooring it' will give you the current that you preset via the machine.

that's how most pedals are setup, afaik :)

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

this setup works; i can't complain...

it shouldn't cost you $400 to get started w/ this pos; unless you have to buy the tank. Most places let you rent tanks for a very reasonable fee. I've not priced one here but back in tx i rented a 250cu tank for $10/mo and got it filled for $38 and some change

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

these are DC machines right? meaning they cant weld aluminium? im pretty new to how tig welding works but not doing it. what makes DC not be able to weld aluminium?

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

do u have any new pics of the welds using the pedal??

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

Please elaborate

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

So did this idea actually work ???

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

Frequency, The Molecular build up of Aluminum is much different then steal and the way it tends to break down is better complimented by the frequency from an AC current.

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

is it possible to weld aluminum with a machine like this though?

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

no

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

With Helium YES, But you won't want too!!!!

Re: Harbor freight TIG thread (with pictars yay!)
 

so im still undecided...

is this tig worth it? or should i just get a Smiley? i have a bud that works at HF so i can get the tig for roughly $160...

i just dont know if this thing is really worth a damn